Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-06-02

0AoA suas oiS Iotks ~
by nature surprisingly clever-tha
: they can do anything by setting thei
mind to it; that they know all abou
everything. In consequence of thi
delusion. it so happens that these littl
folks. these Lilliputians, often caicl
some larger mortal. and tie and pei
him down, hand. foot and head, witt
their silken threads. before he wei
knows where he is. They swarm up
on him, and search his intellectua
pockets for wonderful curiosities tina
are commonplace thines of himself
They address him in their charmiIs
language. which is very simple one
not too strict about grammatical rules
the outcome of all of which is, that g
story might, could and should be told.
About the could" the Lilliputians
are always certain; but the captive is
very uncertain indeed. Possibly he
is one of those people who feel that to
spin out a childrens tale is equal in
embarrassment to making an after
dinner speech, and of the two more
likely to collapse in failure. Othe,s,
Of course, are of opinion that to tell q
story to children is the easiest thing
IN the world; and that sense or non
sense can be strung together to any
length, and will please the indiscrim-
mating audience as long as the teller
cares to be troubled with them.
Let those who have this opinion put
1t to the test, and they will find that
the audience is anything but indis-
eliminating; that nonsense cannot be
strung at any length; and that sense
which is less diticult--will prove a
f.ilu.e, too, if it lie told above or be.
low the level of the listeners. More
over, strangers in the Lilliputiau
realms, unacquainted with the customs
and language, make most lamentable
and trying failures, even when they
have taken the greatest pains to tell
an excellent tale. This sort of story.
telling is, in fact, an art in itself; and
a more difficult art than the recount
iaSs~' 80 @-'-~--Ii -.
what is sketched in a few words.
But whoever loves the little people
must at some time or other expect to
be, perforce, put to trial in the story
telling art.
A true story always carries pc.
culiar charm with it, although an
untrue story may oe more attractive
in other ways. Probably a philoso-
piers reason for the distinction would
be, that the foundation of the craving
for stories is the children's desire to
acquire knowledge of things outside
of their own little sphere, in order to
satisfy the curiosity which is their
natural and necessary gift, and to give
scope to that imagination which is the
hirthright of every child, and which
is often left unused and gradually lost
in hard-working later years. A true
narrative gives the child the desired
knowledge of things in the concrete,
and the small life touches other lives,
and looks into them with all the zest
of its hunger for experience. The
tale of Imagination develops the child's
imagination in corresponding degree;
but it only affords a knowledge Of
things in the abstract, and there is
not felt the electric touch against
other lives of its own human kind.
AS TO the class of true narrative, which
We have called personal experiences,
these depend much more upon the
telling than upon the matter told.
Miss Edgeworth's model race Of
wise and prudent young folks has
been superseded by vast multitude
OF boys and girls, as fictitious as they
but more humanity faulty. The child
rem like the new race better, because
they seem more alive and real, being
more like their own imperfect selves
And in this matter children have the
very same discriminating instinct
which prompts their elders to desider
ate some human weakness in theil
heroines, and some cracks and dint
and commonplace rust of the worlC
on the armor Of their heroes.
In storytelling it would by n,
means be hard task to humbly imi
tate Hans Andersen, the laureate o
the child-world. Three points seen
to have been set before his mind
tell the possible adventures OF som
simple thing; to speak Of scenes an
circumstances familiar in the child
ren's experience; to throw across
all the shadow of human tenderness
sorrow and kindliness. Out of an ol
bottle-neck he evolves a beautifU
! history with plenty of sadness in j